Device, system and method for image-based content delivery

ABSTRACT

Media content is provided using thumbnail-based images and respective archives linked thereto. In accordance with one or more embodiments, access is provided to interactive single-page and multi-page thumbnail images, with each thumbnail image being linked to at least one of a plurality of media-content units in respective sets of the media-content units (e.g., to pages within respective articles each having one or more pages, with each page having predefined text and image data in a set layout). Archive data is identified and communicated for each media content unit, responsive to user input data indicating a selection of one of the thumbnail images, and based on availability of the archive data locally at a user device.

RELATED PATENT DOCUMENTS

This patent document is a continuation under 35 U.S.C. §120 of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 13/439,665 filed on Apr. 4, 2012 (U.S. Pat.No. 9,274,694), which is a continuation-in-part under 35 U.S.C. §120 ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/415,157, entitled “Media ContentDevice, System and Method” and filed on Mar. 8, 2012 (U.S. Pat. No.8,978,149), which claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119 of U.S.Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/487,111 filed on May 17,2011; each of these patent documents is fully incorporated herein byreference.

BACKGROUND

Many media categories, such as music, home video, books, and television,have been substantially impacted by the advent of digital distribution.To date, the availability of free content on the internet has dilutedpublishers' ability to sell print products. This has contributed toprint advertising declines, and online advertising has not made up forthe loss. Some industry observers foresee a continuing and inevitableslow decline in revenues, based on value migration to tech players,similar to the decline in other media sectors.

In addition to the above, the ability to provide content in a mannerthat is scalable, usable and readily valued/attributed has beenchallenging. For example, media content is provided using a myriad ofdifferent delivery approaches, and to end-user devices that varytremendously from user to user, and also change dramatically over timeas technology evolves. Distributing the media content such that thecontent is available in a readily-accessible manner has also beenchallenging. For instance, the storage capability of end-user devicessuch as reader type tablets can be limited. In addition, contentdelivery over networks can be time consuming and subject to issuesrelating to one or more network components, bandwidth, networkavailability and others.

These and other aspects have presented challenges to the delivery,selection and presentation of media content.

SUMMARY

Aspects of the present disclosure are directed to presenting mediacontent to users, such as via mobile (e.g., hand-held) devices,stand-alone computers, mobile computers, televisions and other displays,and navigation systems.

In accordance with one or more embodiments, an apparatus includes firstand second circuit-based modules. The first circuit-based moduleprovides access to interactive thumbnail images, with each thumbnailimage being linked to at least one of a plurality of media-content unitsin respective sets of the media-content units, as follows. A single-pagethumbnail image is provided for each media-content unit including asingle image-based media content page to be displayed at a remote mediaaccess device. A multi-page thumbnail image is provided for eachmedia-content unit including at least two image-based media contentpages to be displayed at the remote media access device. The single-pagethumbnail image includes image data that is based upon an imagedisplayed on the single image-based media content page, and themulti-page thumbnail image includes image data that is based on an imagedisplayed on at least two of the at least two image-based media contentpages. Both the single-page and multi-page thumbnail images are of thesame display size. The second circuit-based module identifies andcommunicates archive data for each media content unit in response touser input data provided at the remote media access device andindicating a selection of one of the thumbnail images. Archive data isidentified for a media content unit for which the selected thumbnailimage is provided, with the identified archive data including at leastone of images and text for each media content page in the unit. Theidentified archive data is communicated to the remote media accessdevice, in response to the identified archive data, including archivedata that is not stored in the remote media access device, and toprovide access to the identified archive data by a user at the remotemedia access device.

Other example embodiments are directed to a reader-type device having adisplay, network communication circuitry and first and second respectivecircuit-based modules, which may be implemented in accordance with theabove discussion. Still other embodiments are directed to a server-sidedevice having first and second circuit-based modules that respectivelygenerate thumbnails and provide access to media content archive data asdiscussed above.

The above summary is not intended to describe each embodiment or everyimplementation of the present invention. The figures and detaileddescription that follow more particularly exemplify various embodiments.

FIGURES

One or more embodiments of the present disclosure may be more completelyunderstood in consideration of the detailed description and inconnection with the drawings, in which

FIG. 1 shows respective circuit-based apparatuses, in accordance with anexample embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 shows a thumbnail creation approach, in accordance with otherexample embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 3 shows a content management and presentation system and approach,in accordance with another example embodiment of the present invention;FIGS. 4A-4D show respective steps/scenarios in a content selection andpresentation approach, in accordance with another example embodiment ofthe present invention; and

FIG. 5 shows a browse-type view that may be implemented with thumbnailimages as described herein, in accordance with one or more other exampleembodiments of the present invention.

While the disclosure is amenable to various modifications andalternative forms, specifics thereof have been shown by way of examplein the drawings. It should be understood, however, that the intention isnot to limit the disclosure to the particular embodiments shown and/ordescribed. On the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications,equivalents, and alternatives falling within the scope of the presentdisclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure relates to media content, delivery andpresentation, as well as circuits, devices and systems as describedherein. While the present disclosure is not necessarily limited, aspectsof the disclosure may be appreciated through a discussion of examplesusing these and other contexts. The following discussion, as well asthat in the above-referenced provisional application that isincorporated herein, describes various exemplary embodiments withoutlimitation to other related embodiments and/or subject matter herein.

Various example embodiments are directed to systems, methods andapparatuses (e.g., computer or other circuit-based modules) thatfacilitate the presentation and delivery of media content for display ata remote user device, such as a tablet or other hand-held device. Insome embodiments, these approaches are used to present media contentcorresponding to a subscription-type access to various pages in amagazine, book or other periodical-type scheme, based on the creationand presentation of size-correlated navigational thumbnail type imagesand the selective/streaming delivery of corresponding page-basedcontent.

In these contexts, media content may include text and/or images to bedisplayed on a page-by-page basis using a layout scheme specific to thecontent type, which is attributed to thumbnail-type images displayed inan arrangement that conveys a logical organization of the respectivepages of media content (e.g., represented consecutive pages in anarticle). Each page may further include embedded content such as videoor audio content, and variable content such as may pertain toadvertising information. The media content is archived, with each pagebeing associated with one or more archives with data identifying thearchive-to-page relationship, and each page also being associated withdata specifying a relationship between the page and other pages in aunit, or group such as an article, a periodical or a series ofperiodicals. For instance, where a particular page belongs to a group ofpages that, together, make up an article in a periodical, the group ofpages may be implemented as an archive. In addition, where content onpages is shared with different pages and/or completely differentarticles, periodicals or other grouping, an archive for such content canbe attributed to multiple pages. As one such example, an advertisingvideo archive can be linked to multiple pages in different sets ofarchives.

Delivery of the respective archives is carried out based onuser-selections corresponding to respective pages to be displayed.Responsive to a page selection (e.g., a user selecting an entirearticle, or a user selecting or turning to a single page), appropriatearchive information is identified for that page. A determination is madeas to whether the archive information is available at the device viawhich the user is accessing the content. If the archive information isavailable at the device (e.g., if an entire article has been pre-loadedand a user is simply turning pages within the article), the archiveinformation is immediately displayed. If the archive information is notavailable at the device, the information is communicated to the devicefrom a remote server, such as via the Internet and/or cellular-typemobile networks.

Various example embodiments are directed apparatuses (e.g.,circuit-based modules implemented at computer-type devices) forproviding media content as described herein. In some embodiments, suchapparatuses are implemented on a server-side and provide media contentfor respective pages of content to a multitude of users, for a varietyof different publishers and related entities. Other embodiments aredirected to client-side apparatuses, which operate to communicate with aserver-side apparatus for presenting media content in a page-basedformat to a user. Still other embodiments are directed to systemsinvolving both client-side and server-side circuit modules that maycommunicate with one another, such as via the Internet, to facilitatethe delivery and presentation of media content sourced from a server anddisplayed at a user's hand-held reader device.

In various implementations, media content as described herein pertainsto subscription-type content, as may be associated with one or more of avariety of content sources. Available content types and/or subscriptiontypes are provided to users via an interface, from which content can beaccessed. Various embodiments are directed to controlling content accessand presentation based upon attributes of one or more of a userattempting to access the content, an owner of the content andcharacteristics of one or more of a device and system used to access thecontent. In some implementations, the content pertains to a digital orprint-type magazine that offers the content to subscribers, who areprovided access as discussed herein.

Various embodiments are directed to an apparatus that provides access tointeractive thumbnail images, and communicates archive data based onselections of the thumbnail images. Each thumbnail image is linked toone or more media-content units in respective sets of the media-contentunits, such as a particular page or group of pages in an article, withaccess being provided to units within the sets based on selections ofrespective thumbnails. Such access is non-linear, for example, in thecontext of providing access to different articles within a digitalpublication, or to different pages within the articles. In addition,such non-linear access facilitates the delivery of portions of mediacontent units, or of a set of media-content units, in a streaming oron-demand type of access approach without necessarily delivering anentire set of media content (e.g., a digital magazine issue) to which anend-user is entitled.

Accordingly, various implementations are directed to creatingthumbnail-based images for proprietary digital magazine subscriptioncontent having a logical ordering based upon an arrangement of textand/or images within the content. The respective thumbnails pertainingto different articles are digitally linked to a particular articleand/or to a particular publisher, based upon subscription access for auser. Archive data is thus digitally linked to the same article and/orpublisher. Accordingly, a plurality of thumbnails are displayed,respectively based upon a logical ordering of the thumbnails pertainingto an issue or other media content unit to which the media content pagesrepresented by the thumbnails belong. The thumbnail-based access to thearchive data is provided based upon the logical ordering.

Single-page thumbnail images are provided (displayed and/or generated)for each media-content unit including a single image-based media contentpage to be displayed at remote media access devices, and multi-pagethumbnail images are provided for each media-content unit including atleast two image-based media content pages to be displayed at the remotemedia access device. The respective thumbnail images are based on imagedata on the page(s) represented by the thumbnail images, the multi-pagethumbnail images being based on two or more pages, with the thumbnailimages also having a common display size. These same-size thumbnailimages can be displayed concurrently, providing a visually-pleasingdisplay that facilitates access to different archives based on theselected thumbnail images.

Archive data is identified and communicated for each media content unitin response to user input data provided via the selection of thethumbnail images, and based upon archive data linked to the selectedthumbnails. In this context, different (e.g., low-resolution) thumbnailscan be selected and implemented to access full-page based archive datafor providing text and/or image data corresponding to respective pagesin a set of content units. The archive data is communicated for accessat the remote media access devices based on the availability of the datathereat.

Accordingly, when a selected thumbnail image corresponds to a mediacontent unit including a single image-based media content page, imageand/or text data for the entire media content page is displayed at theremote media device. When a selected thumbnail image is based on two ormore image-based media content pages, image and/or text data for one ofthe pages is displayed (e.g., a first page of an article), and imageand/or text data for a sequential one of the pages is displayed inresponse to a further user input. The archive data is identified, invarious embodiments, using ID data identifying the selected thumbnailimage together with stored mapping data that correlates the ID data withat least one archive.

Various embodiments are directed to a pre-loading, or predictive type ofmedia content access. Additional archive data is communicated inresponse to communicating the identified archive data to the remotemedia access device, and use thereof. This approach can be implemented,for example, by determining that a user is accessing a last page in aparticular archive, and communicating an archive including a next pageas may be accessed by the user, and can be effected by a monitoring-typeapplication available at a reader device.

Another example embodiment is directed to selecting one of at least twosets of archive data for which a common thumbnail image is provided,based upon one or more conditions. For example, available bandwidth forcommunicating the archive data, a device type identification of theremote media access device to which the archive data is to becommunicated, and a page orientation for providing the identifiedarchive data for access at the remote media access device can all beused to identify an appropriate version of archive data to deliver.

Another example embodiment is directed to a reader-type device having adisplay, network communication circuitry and first and second respectivecircuit-based modules, which may be implemented in accordance with theabove discussion. The reader-type device is responsive to user inputsselecting displayed thumbnails by displaying archive data that is eitheravailable locally, or accessed remotely, the latter being carried outresponsive to the archive data not being locally available. With thisapproach, streaming-type non-linear access can be provided to respectivemedia content pages at the reader device, by delivering the pages on apage-by-page or article-by-article approach without necessarilydelivering an entire set of articles (e.g., pertaining to a digitalmagazine).

In another embodiment, a server-side device has first and secondcircuit-based modules that respectively generate thumbnails and provideaccess to media content archive data, as may be implemented with theabove discussion. The server-side device generates thumbnail image data,and communicates archive data based upon user selections of thethumbnail image data. In various aspects, different sets of archivedata, including information to be displayed on at least one page foreach article in a single issue of a digital magazine, are separatelycommunicated upon an article-by article basis. In addition, access tothe respective sets of media content units is controlled in connectionwith various embodiments, by communicating the generated thumbnailimages over a network using authentication criteria provided by theremote media access devices, and data linking the media content units tothe thumbnail images. In other embodiments, the communication of theidentified archive data is controlled by processing authenticationcriteria communicated from the remote media access devices with storedauthentication data.

Navigation between media content pages is effected using one or more ofa variety of approaches. In one example embodiment, navigation betweenpages represented in a content unit (e.g., a magazine article) is basedupon a (logical) vertical user input at a reader device for scrolling orjumping vertically through an article. Navigation between differentcontent units is based upon a (logical) horizontal user input at areader device, for scrolling or jumping horizontally between differentcontent units respectively having different sets of media content pages.Accordingly, archives tied to respective media content pages areprovided at the reader device based upon the user inputs, with archivedata communicated to the reader device when the archive data is notavailable at the reader device.

In some implementations, horizontal navigation between respectivecontents units is restricted when a user is vertically navigating withina particular content unit. In one example, when a user is scrollingvertically through several pages of an article, horizontal navigation toa subsequent article is limited to instances in which the user is at atop-level (e.g., first or main page) within the particular article. Inother embodiments, a page or article link is provided within respectivearticle pages, such that a user input with regard to such a link isprocessed by retrieving and presenting archive data corresponding to theparticular pager or article to which the user input applies (e.g., fornavigating to other articles or pages within a particular magazineissue, or between magazine issues).

In various implementations, thumbnail images as presented abovecorrespond to a table of contents (TOC) for a particular issue or otherset of media content units, with each thumbnail being attributed to oneor more media content archives for each unit. The table of contents is auser interface component that is displayed to the user, such as inresponse to a specific type user interaction with the controllingapplication/module at a user's reader device. The TOC may contain anentry for each article and section in a particular issue, or in a groupof articles set in accordance with user preferences. When the userselects an article or section from the TOC, the TOC user interfacecomponent closes (e.g., terminates operation) and the reader navigatesto the first page of the selected section or article. Such an approachmay be implemented, for example, in accordance with FIGS. 4A-4D asdiscussed below.

Alternate views are provided to suit particular applications, which canbe initiated after a media content page has been selected fornavigation. In some implementations, a browsing view is presented inwhich a particular media content page is presented along with navigationtools for navigating to other content pages and/or other articles, orback to a table of contents type of view in which respective thumbnailimages are provided as discussed herein.

Source content that is used to develop archives to which respectivethumbnails and media content pages refer is provided in one or more of avariety of manners to suit various example embodiments. In one exampleembodiment, source content received in different formats is converted toa common format for use in thumbnail generation and display. Graphicalelements are selectively rescaled and/or resampled to meetcharacteristics of specific devices upon which an end reader applicationis running, for providing image-based access to the source content. Foreach page, a small dimensioned, composite image is selected, withinteractive elements being combined to create a view of the page as itwould be rendered in an end-user reader application. Such a compositeimage, or thumbnail, is thus representative of the page with respect toa user's viewing, but with a much smaller data size. In someimplementations, different browse images are constructed for portraitand landscape orientations, respectively having different dimensions andconstructed based upon different aspects of the source content withrespect to each orientation (portrait and landscape).

The source content is then factored into individual archives, with eacharchive including resources (data) necessary for rendering a particularunit of content. Such a unit of content may include, for example, asingle orientation of a single page, multiple orientations of a singlepage, all of the pages of an article or other logical grouping ofcontent.

Archive data for each respective media content page to be displayed atan end user device is communicated using one or more of a variety ofapproaches, depending upon the application. These approaches may includeuser-initiated download communications and/or background downloadcommunications. For instance, a reader application at an end-user deviceinitially has no content locally available to it. When the userinitiates a reading content activity, the reader downloads one or morearchives containing the description of the structure of the content towhich the user is seeking access. For instance, a user may select accessto a magazine to which the user has subscription rights.

The structure description includes information for mapping assets toarchives that, in conjunction with other data in the description, allowsthe reader application to determine which archives are required to bedownloaded before each particular media content page can be rendered.This process is performed when the reader application is required torender a page. With this approach, efficient, non-linear navigation ofthe media content is provided, without having to have the entire contentset downloaded.

For background-type downloads, media content is downloadedautomatically, without necessarily being implemented directly inresponse to user navigation events. For instance, such an approach maybe implemented by downloading archives pertaining to successive pages inan article or issue, when a user selects a single page, in anticipationof the user accessing a logically “next” page or article. Anotherapproach involves a predictive approach to downloading archives to pagesthat a user is expected to visit, based upon the user's historicalcontent access approaches.

Turning now to the figures, FIG. 1 shows a system 100 and respectiveserver-based and client-based circuit-based apparatuses 110 and 120, inaccordance with one or more example embodiments of the presentinvention. Various embodiments are directed to an entire system 100 thatmay include one or more server-based apparatuses 110 and client-basedapparatuses 120. Other embodiments are directed to a client-basedapparatus 110, and still other embodiments are directed to aserver-based apparatus 110 (or two or more of such apparatuses workingtogether, or aspects of the apparatus 110 implemented at differentlocations).

Beginning with the server-based apparatus 110, first and secondcircuit-based modules 112 and 114 respectively generate thumbnail-basedimage data corresponding to media content, and provide archive datapertaining to the thumbnail-based image data. The thumbnail data isgenerated at module 112 using, for example, one or more approaches asdiscussed herein and in which a thumbnail is created/used for each mediacontent unit, for respective sets of such units. This approach mayinvolve, for example, generating thumbnail images for each article unitin a set of such articles that make up a magazine-type periodical. Eachthumbnail image is identified in association with the archive data forthe article.

The module 112 generates a single-page thumbnail image for eachmedia-content unit including a single image-based media content page tobe displayed at the client-based apparatus 120 (or another a remotemedia access device). The module 112 generates a multi-page thumbnailimage for articles having two or more pages to be displayed at theremote media access device. The single-page thumbnail represents imagedata that is based upon image data displayed on the single page (e.g., alow-resolution image of an actual page 113 for which archive data isattributed to the thumbnail), and the multi-page thumbnail imagesimilarly represents image data from a main or first page of such anarticle, as well as an indication of other pages in the article.

The second circuit-based module 114 provides generated thumbnail-typeimage data representing a table of contents type of archive data 130. Inresponse to thumbnail selection data 132 pertaining to user input dataat the client-based apparatus 120, the second circuit-based moduleidentifies archive data, as may be stored in database 116, which isdesignated to a media content unit for which the selected thumbnailimage is provided. The identified archive data is sent as data 134 tothe client-based apparatus 120. As discussed herein, the identifiedarchive data includes at least one of images and text for each mediacontent page in the unit, and may include embedded information.

The client-based apparatus 120 includes a reader-type display 121 fordisplaying page-based media content, as well as circuit-based modules122 and 124 that facilitate the selection and implementation of thepage-based media content. The client-based apparatus 120 also includescommunication circuitry for communicating with the server-basedapparatus 110, such as a wireless internet circuit and/or cellularcommunications circuit. The first circuit-based module 122 providesthumbnail-based images, such as TOC-based images from the TOC archivedata 130 communicated from the server-based apparatus 110 as discussedabove, for access via the display 121. The second circuit-based module124 is responsive to thumbnail selections via the display 121 byproviding appropriate archive data, which can be retrieved from theserver-based apparatus 120 by communicating the thumbnail selection data132, and receiving the archive data 134. With this approach,streaming-type access is provided to sets of media content pages, as maybe provided under a common subscription (for pages within a particulararticle).

In some implementations, the server-based apparatus 110 keeps track ofarchive data stored at the client-based apparatus 120. When thethumbnail selection data 132 is received, the server-based circuit 110determines whether data identified in the thumbnail selection data ispresent at the client-based apparatus 120. For archive data that isalready present, the server-based circuit 110 does not communicate thearchive data, which can be useful to limit communication bandwidth andtime.

In other implementations, the client-based apparatus 120 generates thethumbnail selection data 132 by generating request data for archivesthat are not present at the client-based apparatus. For instance, wherea particular set of pages, content information or other information hasalready been provided to the client-based apparatus, the apparatuscompares available information with information attributed to archivesto which selected thumbnail images pertain. The apparatus determineswhether any of the archive information is not present at theclient-based apparatus 120, and sends the thumbnail-based selection data132 based on the determination (e.g., with the thumbnail-based selectiondata 132 being indicative only of that archive and/or specific datawithin an archive needed at the client-based apparatus 120 fordisplaying a selected media content page).

In some embodiments, the client-based apparatus 120 monitors availablestorage space, or storage space attributed to subscription-type content,and selectively deletes content to make room for storing archives asthey are received. In this context, the apparatus 120 may set arelatively small amount of storage space aside, using the selectivearchive retrieval to access content as a user requests/selects theaccess.

In some implementations, the server-side apparatus 110 includes anauthentication module, as may be implemented with the secondcircuit-based module 114 or otherwise within the apparatus 110. Theauthentication module authenticates the client-based apparatus 120 forreceiving archives, before communicating the archives for accessthereat.

Various other embodiments, as may be implemented in connection with FIG.1 and/or other embodiments as described herein, may involve one or moreaspects as described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/415,157referenced above and to which benefit is claimed. For instance, variousembodiments are directed to the presentation of archive data inaccordance with event monitoring and related metric valuation as shownin and described in connection with FIG. 1 in the '157 patent document.Other embodiments are directed to the presentation of thumbnail-typeimages in accordance with one or more approaches as shown in FIG. 2 anddescribed in connection therewith (e.g., as presented with device 202).

A variety of different types of thumbnails are created and used inaccordance with various example embodiments. FIG. 2 shows two suchthumbnails representing a thumbnail creation approach, in accordancewith other example embodiments of the present invention. Browsethumbnail 210 is a single-page thumbnail created by scaling an imagerepresenting text, images and/or other information on a media contentpage, to an appropriate size. This scaling can be implemented, forexample, while preserving an original aspect ratio.

Browse thumbnail 220 is a thumbnail corresponding to a media contentpage having a larger relative height or aspect ratio as relative tobrowse thumbnail 210, and/or to a multi-page thumbnail. For instance,when a media content page, such as a page of a magazine article, ispresented in HTML, the HTML is rendered and a raster image is createdand used as a source image for the browse thumbnail. If the resultingbrowse thumbnail is taller than some value appropriate for theorientation, the browse thumbnail is first cropped and an opacitygradient is applied to the bottom of the image. For instance, the browsethumbnail 220 is cut from a height represented by line 1, to a heightrepresented at line 2. The portion between lines 2 and 3 is a fadeportion, which provides a visual cue to the user that there is morecontent than is displayed in the browse thumbnail. Cropping the browsethumbnail allows it to look visually pleasing next to browse thumbnailsthat did not require cropping. The additional content represented viathe fade may, for example, pertain to a cropped portion of a singleimage. The fade portion may also represent additional pages within aparticular article, or such pages may be similarly displayed (andcropped, if need be), in a vertical-type spatial arrangement asdiscussed herein. Moreover, the browse thumbnail 210 may also be croppedin the fade region between lines 1 and 2, such as to suit a particularpre-set thumbnail height.

FIG. 3 shows a content management and presentation system 300 andapproach, in accordance with another example embodiment of the presentinvention. The approach shown in FIG. 3 may, for example, be implementedin connection with the system 100 shown in FIG. 1, with the server-basedapparatus 110, and/or with the client-based apparatus 120.

At block 310, source content is accessed and transformed at block 320into a format that is amenable to presentation at reader application340, such as may be implemented as a circuit-based module in theclient-based apparatus 120. The source content is provided in one ofmany formats, and in some implementations includes, for a singlecomplete issue of a title (e.g., an issue of a particular digitalmagazine), visual assets, a description of the logical structure of theissue, and data for interactive components of the issue. In someembodiments, metadata for the issue is provided within the sourcecontent or as an additional input to the transformation process.

The source content is processed using a transformation process at block320 that normalizes different source formats into a single format, suchthat media content provided from different publishers can be displayedin a similar manner. In addition, the block 320 generates browsethumbnail images using an approach such as described herein, as well asa table of contents structure.

The resulting content is then packaged into a collection of informationthat can be implemented at a web-connected file storage system 330 asone or more archives 332, such as described herein. The table ofcontents structure is also implemented as an archive 334 in the system330, such as by storing data pertaining to a table of contents archivefor each issue processed at block 320. Each archive contains a portionof a particular issue, and may include portions pertaining to differentissues (e.g., where an image or video content such as an advertisementis shared with different issues, each issue may point to the samearchive). This allows for individual portions of the issue to becommunicated to the reader application 340. One or more algorithms maybe implemented to break the content into archives, such as by using onearchive per page, one archive per section, or one archive per article.

FIGS. 4A-4D show respective steps/scenarios in a more particular contentselection and presentation approach, in accordance with other exampleembodiments of the present invention. At FIG. 4A, horizontal andvertical page layout images are shown respectively corresponding toarticles and pages within each article in a publication. In thisinstance, the issue includes 9 pages, with pages 1, 2, 5, 7, and 8 beingthe first page of different sections of the publication (or articleswithin the publication) and pages 3, 4, 6, and 9 are articles within asection (or pages within a particular article). In some implementations,a browse thumbnail is constructed for each page in the top horizontalaxis in a manner similar to that shown in FIG. 2, such that five browsethumbnails are created for the publication represented in FIG. 4A.

Data is communicated from each thumbnails (e.g., as a navigationselection) to a remote device 410, such as described in connection withFIG. 1. This data provides sufficient information to identify archivedata as discussed herein, for presenting the data for access by a user.

In FIG. 4A, dashed lines and an arrow at page 1 represents a usernavigating horizontally to page 2. Once at page 2, the user is able tonavigate horizontally back to page 1 or forward to page 3, as shown inFIG. 4B. As also shown at FIG. 4B, the user is also able to navigatevertically to page 3 (and subsequently, to page 4). FIG. 4C shows dashedlines about page 3, representing the user's ability to navigatevertically between pages 2 and 4. In some implementations, once a userhas traversed down a vertical axis, access is limited to verticalnavigation, until the top page (page 2) is again reached. As shown inFIG. 4D, and in accordance with certain embodiments, direct navigationis provided within particular pages, to other pages, such as whenarticles within a publication refer to other articles therein.

FIG. 5 shows a browse-type view/module 500 that may be implemented withthumbnail images as described herein, in accordance with one or moreother example embodiments of the present invention. Such a view may beimplemented using, for example, a reader device 120, with each thumbnailimage representing a scaled-down image of a page that a user wishes toview. Such a view can be displayed to a user in response to a specificuser initiated action, such as by clicking on a specific button, etc.

A thumbnail 510 is displayed for a current page, with additionalthumbnails being displayed as a user browses backwards (left) or forward(right) in a particular article. Each thumbnail is created as discussedherein, and can represent a low-resolution image of a media content pagehaving greater resolution/higher bandwidth materials, such as text,images and/or other embedded content. For instance, the browse viewshown in FIG. 5 can be used to display a thumbnail for each page thatcan be navigated to horizontally, allowing a user to quickly flipthrough the pages and identify a sought-after page accordingly. Once adesired page is identified, the user can navigate to the page bytapping/clicking on the thumbnail. For instance, by tapping/clicking (orotherwise selecting) page 11 in thumbnail 510 as shown, the readercloses the browse view, retrieves appropriate archive data for page 11,and displays the archive data on the reader. In some implementations,page metadata is displayed along with the thumbnail image 510, such asto indicate an article name, issue name or other aspect of the page.

Additional navigation aspects may be implemented with the browse view,such as navigation or scroll bars, section headings, navigation toolsfor jumping to other sections or to a table of contents, and others. Oneparticular embodiment is implemented in accordance with a navigationmodule that displays information in a navigation bar 520. In connectionwith one or more aspects (and as may relate to one or more discoveriesas described herein), the navigation bar 520 provides a visual cue thatfacilitates a perception of organizational depth into a particularpublication. For instance, the digital presentation of a page within amagazine may suffer from an inability to convey a logical position ofthe page within an article, issue or volume. As related to auser-interactive experience with a physical publication, viewingpage-by-page views within a publication upon a reader device (screen) ismodified using the navigation bar 520 to convey such a depth or positionwithin the publication.

By way of example, the navigation bar 520 is shown as displaying acurrent section pertaining to the page 11 (510), the current section (5)being centered on the bar 520. As a user navigates from page to page,the displayed sections move/scroll to maintain a consistent indicationof where a user logically resides in a publication. In variousimplementations, the module operates responsive to the selection of thedifferent sections via user input, by navigating to the selectedsection.

By way of another example, the navigation bar 520 is shown displaying ascrubber bar 522, which shows an overall position of the user withrespect to a current page (510) and an entire issue. In someembodiments, the scrubber bar and/or the section references also showrelative position from a publication date standpoint, to convey a user'sposition within a volume of different publications (e.g., issues)released at different times. These embodiments are facilitated by thethumbnail image creation and archive linking/retrieval, and inparticular for implementation on mobile devices with respect toavailable storage and bandwidth.

Still other embodiments are directed to the presentation of a browseview with an option to access a full page to which the thumbnailpertains under limited bandwidth conditions, such as by retrieving textonly archive data under low bandwidth conditions, to facilitate rapidaccess to the content. In still other implementations, such text-onlyarchive data is immediately delivered to the reader, with otherhigher-bandwidth data (e.g., images, video) delivered after thetext-only archive data.

Various embodiments as presented herein may be implemented in accordancewith one or more apparatuses, systems, methods and other approaches asdescribed and/or shown in the above-referenced provisional patentapplication, to which priority is claimed. For example, variousembodiments are directed to manipulating and presenting media contentthat may be implemented with the system shown in FIG. 1 of theabove-referenced provisional patent application, with regard to thepresentation of media content for access and coordinating the deliverythereof. For instance, the various functional blocks may be implementedas software modules executed on one or more networked processors, orimplemented on separate processors respectively carrying out differentfunctions (e.g., different processors on a network and/or withprocessors in an end device operated by a user for accessing content).Data flow between functional blocks may be effected in various mannersas well.

In addition, various aspects as shown in FIG. 1 of the above-referencedprovisional application may be implemented using one or more approachesas described herein, such as shown in the figures. For instance, mediacontent delivery can be provided as described (e.g., software andservice). Other aspects of the system shown in FIG. 1 of the provisionalapplication may be implemented for modules related to those discussedherein, in connection with the presentation and navigation of content.

Various modules may be implemented to carry out one or more of theoperations and activities described herein and/or shown in the figures.In these contexts, a “module” is a circuit that carries out one or moreof these or related operations/activities. For example, in certain ofthe above-discussed embodiments, one or more modules are discrete logiccircuits or programmable logic circuits configured and arranged forimplementing the operations/activities, as described above and shown inFIG. 1 for the circuit blocks 122 and 124 implemented as two modules orcombined as one module, or for circuit blocks 112 and 114 (similarlyalone or combined), and which cannot be carried out by a human. Incertain embodiments, the programmable circuit is one or more computercircuits programmed to execute a set (or sets) of instructions (and/orconfiguration data). The instructions (and/or configuration data) can bein the form of firmware or software stored in and accessible from amemory (circuit). As an example, first and second modules include acombination of a CPU hardware-based circuit and a set of instructions inthe form of firmware, where the first module includes a first CPUhardware circuit with one set of instructions and the second moduleincludes a second CPU hardware circuit with another set of instructions.

Certain embodiments are directed to a computer program product (e.g.,nonvolatile memory device), which includes a machine orcomputer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon which may beexecuted by a computer (or other electronic device) to perform theseoperations/activities.

Detailed-Embodiments/Experimental

In accordance with various example embodiments, one or more types ofcomputers, mobile devices, tablets, televisions, compute servers,network devices and other electronic devices are used to implement oneor more aspects of the various embodiments described herein. Forexample, in one embodiment, a reader-type device such as a tablet isimplemented using a tablet product available from Amazon of Seattle,Wash., and a platform such as the Android Gingerbread platform availablefrom Google of Mountain View, Calif. Such a device may communicate witha host server via the internet, using one or more of Wi-Fi, Ethernet,and mobile cellular types of network communications links.

In connection with various example embodiments, it has been discoveredthat the presentation of page-based media content, such as may beassociated with a digital publication (e.g., magazine issue, and seriesof such issues), is difficult to comprehend with respect to the depthinto a particular magazine issue or to chronological releases of therespective information, such as may be relevant to time-related mediacontent (e.g., news and current events). In connection with theseaspects, it has also been discovered that, by displaying thumbnails asdescribed in connection with one or more embodiments herein, and linkingthose thumbnails with archive data, this can facilitate usercomprehension of a logical arrangement and layout of an article, anissue or a series of issues of a publication, which cannot be readilyconveyed via the simple presentation of page-based views. In addition,it has further been discovered that, by linking archive data to alower-resolution thumbnail image, a browse view can be presented withrapid access (via relatively low bandwidth) yet convey sufficientinformation for comprehension by a user with respect to layout, whilealso mitigating the requirement that large volumes of data (e.g., for anentire issue) be communicated and/or stored at a user's device, whichcan negatively affect available storage. This approach facilitatesnearly streaming-type access to publication-based digital media, whichalleviates the need for delivering an entire volume or media content.

Various embodiments described above, in the above-cited provisionalpatent application (including the Appendix therein) to which benefit isclaimed, and shown in the figures may be implemented together and/or inother manners. One or more of the items depicted in the drawings/figurescan also be implemented in a more separated or integrated manner, orremoved and/or rendered as inoperable in certain cases, as is useful inaccordance with particular applications. For instance, various functionscan be carried out by controlling a remote device, such as bycontrolling a remote end-user device to present media and/or to presentrepresentations of the media for input/selection. In view of thedescription herein, those skilled in the art will recognize that manychanges may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scopeof the present disclosure.

1. An apparatus comprising: a first circuit-based module configured andarranged to provide access to interactive thumbnail images, eachthumbnail image being linked to at least one of a plurality ofmedia-content data groups in respective sets of the media-content datagroups, by providing a single-page thumbnail image for eachmedia-content data group including a single image-based media contentpage to be displayed at a remote media access device, the single-pagethumbnail image including image data that is based upon an imagedisplayed on the single image-based media content page, and providing amulti-page thumbnail image for each media-content data group includingat least two image-based media content pages to be displayed at theremote media access device, the multi-page thumbnail image includingimage data that is based on an image displayed on at least two of the atleast two image-based media content pages, the single-page andmulti-page thumbnail images being of the same display size; and a secondcircuit-based module configured and arranged to identify and communicatearchive data for each media content data group by, in response to userinput data provided at the remote media access device, the user inputdata and indicating a selection of one of the thumbnail images,identifying archive data designated to a media content data group forwhich the selected thumbnail image is provided, the identified archivedata including at least one of images and text for each media contentpage in the data group, communicating the identified archive data to theremote media access device, in response to the identified archive dataincluding archive data that is not stored in the remote media accessdevice, and provide the identified archive data for access by a user atthe remote media access device.
 2. A method comprising: at a serverproviding access to interactive thumbnail images each thumbnail imagebeing linked to at least one of a plurality of media-content data groupsin respective sets of the media-content data groups, by providing asingle-page thumbnail image for each media-content data group includinga single image-based media content page to be displayed at a remotemedia access device which includes a display, the single-page thumbnailimage including image data that is based upon an image displayed on thesingle image-based media content page, and providing a multi-pagethumbnail image for each media-content data group including at least twoimage-based media content pages to be displayed at the remote mediaaccess device, the multi-page thumbnail image including image data thatis based on an image displayed on at least two of the at least twoimage-based media content pages, the single-page and multi-pagethumbnail images being of the same display size; and also at the server,identifying and communicating archive data for each media content datagroup by, in response to user input data provided at the remote mediaaccess device, the user input data and indicating a selection of one ofthe thumbnail images, identifying archive data designated to a mediacontent data group—for which the selected thumbnail image is provided,the identified archive data including at least one of images and textfor each media content page in the data group, communicating theidentified archive data to the remote media access device, in responseto the identified archive data including archive data that is not storedin the remote media access device, and provide the identified archivedata for access by a user at the remote media access device.
 3. Themethod of claim 2, wherein the server provides the single-page thumbnailimage by generating the single-page thumbnail image using image datadisplayed on the single page, and provides the multi-page thumbnailimage by generating the multi-page thumbnail image using image datadisplayed on at least two of the at least two pages.
 4. The method ofclaim 2, wherein the server provides the single-page and multi-pagethumbnail images by communicating and concurrently displaying the imageson a display at the remote media access device.
 5. The method of claim2, wherein the server provides the single-page and multi-page thumbnailimages by communicating and concurrently displaying the thumbnail imageson the display of the remote media access device, and provides theidentified archive data for access by a user by in response to theselected thumbnail image corresponding to a media content unit includinga single image-based media content page, displaying at least one ofimage data and text data for the entire media content page on thedisplay at the remote media device, and in response to the selectedthumbnail image corresponding to a media content unit including at leasttwo image-based media content pages, displaying at least one of imagedata and text data for an entire first one of the at least twoimage-based media content pages at the remote media device, and inresponse to a user input for accessing another one of the at least twoimage-based media content pages, displaying at least one of image dataand text data for the entire other one of the at least two image-basedmedia content pages.
 6. The method of claim 2, wherein the servercommunicates the identified archive data by transmitting archive dataover a network to the remote media access device.
 7. The method of claim2, wherein the server communicates the identified archive data bycommunicating, over a network, an archive request identifying theidentified archive data and by receiving, over the network, theidentified archive data from a remote archive data source.
 8. The methodof claim 2, wherein the server communicates the archive request inresponse to determining that archive data in the request is notavailable at the remote media access device.
 9. The method of claim 2,wherein the server identifies archive data designated to a media contentunit for which the selected thumbnail image is provided by using ID dataidentifying the selected thumbnail image together with stored mappingdata that correlates the ID data with at least one archive, andcommunicates data in the at least one archive over a network to theremote media access device.
 10. The method of claim 2, wherein theserver authenticates remote media access devices by processingauthentication criteria communicated from the remote media accessdevices with stored authentication data, and communicates and providesthe identified archive data for access based on the authentication ofthe remote media access device to which the identified archive data isto be delivered.
 11. The method of claim 2, wherein the servercommunicates additional archive data in response to communicating theidentified archive data to the remote media access device, based uponstored data identifying a relationship between the additional archivedata and the identified archive data.
 12. The method of claim 2, whereinthe server identifies archive data by identifying one of at least twosets of archive data for which the same thumbnail image is provided,based upon at least one of: available bandwidth for communicating thearchive data, a device type identification of the remote media accessdevice, and a page orientation for providing the identified archive datafor access at the remote media access device.
 13. The method of claim 2,wherein the server provides the single-page and multi-page thumbnailimages by communicating and concurrently displaying the thumbnail imageson a display at the remote media access device, and provides theidentified archive data for access by a user by displaying the archivedata for at least one of the media content pages in the media contentunit for the selected thumbnail image on the display at the remote mediaaccess device.